Secrets and Lies
by Prime627
Summary: Twins are born. One is taken to the Autobots, the other to the Decepticons. No one knows except the parents, and as the sparklings grow up, they start to wonder about the other. And then they meet in person and the pieces come together (Part 1) (Part two coming soon)
1. Chapter 1

Nighthawk snuck onto the _Nemesis_ with a basket in her servo. A purple and black sparkling cooed up at her and seemed entertained watching her sneak around. "Hush, little one. You do not want to wake anyone, do you?"

The sparkling seemed to understand as she settled down and closed her purple optics. Nighthawk smiled down at the little sparkling and she thought she was safe until she slammed into a silver mech. "Hey, watch it!" She looked up and saw her leader staring down at her. "Lord Megatron... I did not see you there. My apologies."

"What is in the basket, Nighthawk?"

She slowly looked down at her precious cargo. "A sparkling, master."

Megatron's optics widened and he examined the sparkling closely. "I did not know one of the mechs here fancied you or that you permitted them to breed with you."

"It is yours, master." Nighthawk took the sparkling out and thrusted it into his servos. She bit her lip as the little femme woke up and blinked up at the large silver mech.

Megatron frowned down at the sparkling as she erupted into tears. "She does not seem to like me very much."

"She's just cranky, that's all."

"How come I never noticed you carrying, Nighthawk? I don't recall you being round or even remotely carrying."

Nighthawk shrugged. "I did not even know myself until I went to patrol and I could not move. I gave birth by the stream to twins. One of them died, though. She was too weak for this world. I had to terminate her."

Megatron grinned. "Looks as though you have learned, Nighthawk. I will let you recover from your birth. Congratulations on the sparkling. She looks just like you."

Silverwing walked into the base, cradling a tiny blue sparkling that shivered and shook. "Ratchet! I have an emergency!" He took the sparkling to the medic, letting the older mech take the sparkling.

"Where did you find a newborn?"

"In the woods. She was so weak that her cries could barely be heard. The mother ran off and I couldn't leave the sparkling to chase her." Silverwing watched the sparkling cry under the medic's servos.

"She's just weak. Probably had a twin. Look how small she is. She had to have had competition. Most likely a mechling." Ratchet let the femme sparkling suck on his digit. "Get her a bottle for the premature sparklings in that cupboard."

Silverwing walked to the cupboard of sparkling supplies, selecting a small bottle. "I feel like I'm going to break this thing." He filled it with warm Energon and handed it to Ratchet.

The medic fed her, cradling her in one servo. "I haven't done this since Optimus was orphaned." He watched the sparkling's optics dim. "Tastes good, doesn't it, sweetspark?" He pulled the bottle away from the sparkling and let the femme sleep in his servo. "Take her to Optimus."

The silver Seeker carried the sparkling to his leader's office where the younger blue and red mech spent most of his time. The young Prime had been named as their leader before he had reached five thousand years old, while the oldest and most ideal mech for leader was a couple hundred million years old, and that was Alpha Trion. "Prime, I have something to show you." He revealed the sparkling in his arms. "I found her in the woods by the Decepticon border. She's tiny. Ratchet thinks she might have had a twin, but I only found her."

Optimus Prime looked up from his data pad and teased the sparkling out of the Seeker's arms. "She is small. I would keep her in the medic's care. We do not want her sick. Our supplies are too precious to waste."

Silverwing saw, once again, what war did to mechs and femmes: It made them hard and practical. Optimus was hardly mature, but he was the mech his team went to with their problems. He remembered when Optimus had been Orion Pax, a carefree mechling with bright optics and a question for everything. Silverwing had been the mech that Orion had pestered the most until Ratchet became their medic, then Ratchet and Orion became best friends. That was about the time that Orion had discovered Megatronus...

Nighthawk woke up, her sparkling pressed against her chest as Megatron stared down at them. "Good morning, my love." She purred as the silver mech's claw went across her jaw. "I see you had a good night's recharge."

"I was mostly watching you two recharge. The little one is remarkably peaceful for a newborn."

"She always has been," she whispered as she stroked her daughter's helm. "She never really kicked. That was her sister..." She choked at the thought of the tiny sparkling and she remembered it's fate. "Too bad she was weak. She would have been a fair warrior."

"The weak must be weeded out, Nighthawk. Remember that."

They were interrupted by the sparkling sneezing and rolling onto her back. "Ma?"

Nighthawk pulled the sparkling close to let her nurse. "What are we going to call her, my love?" She stroked the sparkling's cheek as she nursed.

"I will think on that. Rest, Nighthawk. I will return to you. I expect you to recover swiftly so you can return to your duties. We must rid this planet of the weak."

Nighthawk nodded, her optics glittering at the prospect of killing again. "Nurse quickly, little one, so I may escape this room. And grow into a fine femme."

The sparkling giggled and purred at her mother, reaching up with tiny talons. "Ah!" She giggled hysterically.

"That will be the sound the Autobots make, not you."

When the sparkling had finished drinking, Nighthawk laid the femme down on her pillow and retreated to the woods. She waited impatiently, pacing until she spotted an Insecticon dipping its head to rub against its mate. She flinched when she felt a servo on her hip and she spun around. "Glad you're here."

Silverwing watched Ratchet care for the sparkling as he smiled. The whole team was gathered around her, peering down at the tiny femme that giggled and reached for Optimus. "Looks like she has a favorite."

Optimus stood several steps away. "She should not favor me. I have done nothing for her. Ratchet cares for her all day and through the night. I have only fed her once when Ratchet had to recharge."

Ratchet chuckled and propped the femme up in the Prime's arms. She squealed in delight and grabbed his digit, forcing it into her mouth. The team 'aww'ed and laughed at the pair.

"She thanks you for that," Ratchet laughed as the sparkling chewed on his digit. "She says 'Thank you so much, Prime'."

Bulkhead chuckled and rubbed her helm fondly. "I'm pretty sure she's thinking about how delicious Optimus tastes."

"Cannibal," someone coughed and the whole room burst into laughter. Even Optimus cracked out a smile and the sparkling joined in a little too late, but that started another uproar simply at the look of joy on her little face.

When she yawned, Ratchet cut the fun short as he took her and bundled her into a blanket. "Bed time now. Prime, could you take her? I have to get some recharge. She should nap peacefully with a full belly."

Optimus nodded once, accepting the little bundle as he walked slowly to his quarters. He never knew he stomped until he saw her helm rock against his chest as she snored quietly. He began to tip-toe, hushing her squeaks and murmurs. He ignored the muffled chuckles of his team as he slowly settled in his chair at his desk. "Sleep well, little one," he whispered.

"She's asleep, Prime," a mech said. Optimus recognized the teasing voice as Wheeljack. "She can't hear you."

"She hears everything," the Prime retorted.

The sparkling's mouth tipped up into a smile as she snuggled deeper into his arms and Optimus watched her instead of reading the reports, like he should.

Silverwing slowly walked backwards, nodding slowly to himself as he then left the base on patrol.

Nighthawk sat on her berth, watching the sparkling roll around on her pillow. Her wings fluttered in impatience. The sparkling was growing every day, but still was unable to care or fend for itself. She sighed heavily, ignoring the sparklings pleading to be held. "No. You have to grow up so I can go back to my duties."

She flinched when the door opened and Megatron walked in. "You are yelling at your sparkling to grow up? She is a couple weeks old. She is in no way in control of her growth rate." He chuckled when his mate growled. "I know you want to get out of here, so I'm coming to relieve you from your mother-" He could not finish for she had jumped up and bolted out of the room, squealing delight as she transformed. "Duties..."

She spun through the air as a jet, spiralling and flipping through clouds. Then she spotted a familiar paint job and she landed, skipping to the mech as he waited for her. "Hello, my love." She kissed his cheek and his low voice purred into her audio, causing her to smile.

"Hello to you, too. How is the femme?"

"Never growing. It was all I could do to get out."

"You left her unattended?"

Nighthawk shrugged indifferently. "She's fine. What is she going to do? Roll off the fluffy pillow? She's not going anywhere."

The mech grunted, turning away. "Your other daughter is well."

She stopped twirling and looked at him, her optics darkening as her wings arched up over her helm in a mixture of shock, anger, and relief. "Oh."

Optimus held the sparkling as she bounced on his knee, her squeals of delight attracting the team to "aww" and watch the pair. She climbed down from his knee and hugged the leg of the nearest warrior, who was Ultra Magnus. The mech flinched at the display of affection and he gently teased her off and hooked her arms around Bulkhead's ankle.

"No hugs for...me..." He coughed, uncomfortable as the sparkling pouted and wrapped her arms back around his leg. "No hugs..."

Wheeljack clapped his back. "Oh, come on, Uncle Magnus! She _loves_ you!"

"Yes, that is indeed something to be afraid of," he said as he dettached her once again, but she clung to him like glue. "No. Bad sparkling."

Optimus took her, letting her arms wrap around his neck. "She is learning. I will inform her you do not appreciate public displays of affection."

"Yes, you will train her to behave like the young femme she is."

Wheeljack yawned and collapsed into Bulkhead. "_Yawn!_ Let her romp and be herself. She'll only be this cute for a couple more weeks. Then she'll be needy and obnoxious."

Prime rolled his optics and set her in her designated box on his desk, setting a blanket on her shoulders as she giggled and chirped like a Predacon. Playing along, he purred and petted her helm, making her squeal in delight. The team left him to play with the sparkling until she fell asleep curled around his servo. Optimus slowly teased her off and laid her on his berth, hesitantly kissing her forehelm.

As he turned away to go back into his office, he heard the femme sit up. He tipped his helm her direction.

"I love you."

He smiled. "I love you too," he whispered.

Nighthawk looked down at her daughter, Nightshade. "I am leaving you, little one. There can no longer be me." She kissed her helm, stroking her cheek. "But I will always be there for you. Remember that. I love you, Nightshade."

She left her young daughter, who was nearly full grown, as she walked to the MedBay. "Knockout, I am ready."

The red mech looked up from a syringe and, after laying her down, he injected her slowly. He watched her optics slowly close and he motioned for his partner, Breakdown, to lift her body. "Goodbye, Nighthawk. See you soon."

He took pictures of her, adding a fatal-looking wound over her spark and a large amount of Energon. "Warrior Nighthawk. Died in the MedBay after a gruesome ambush directed by Seeker Silverwing. May she rust in peace."

Megatron walked to his mate's quarters, seeing Nightshade recharging peacefully, but no Nighthawk. He woke his daughter. "Where is your mother?"

She woke slowly, blinking blurry optics as she yawned and chirped. "Huh...?"

"Where is your mother?" He started to get a little worried. It was so unlike Nighthawk to disappear and not tell Nightshade. "Where is she?"

"Patrolling again, maybe. I don't know. Ask Knockout. I heard her talking to him. Maybe he knows for sure." She yawned loudly and shook herself. "I'm exhausted..."

He saw an Energon cube tipped over and he picked it up. "You fell asleep drinking your ration again, did you not?" He sighed when she stared dumbly at the cube. "You _must_ recharge more."

"I am," she promised. "I swear to Unicron I am."

Megatron nodded, rolling his optics. "Mm-hmm. You are like your mother." He tapped the cube thoughtfully as he walked out. He saw Knockout covering a familiar body in the MedBay and his spark stopped. "Nighthawk!?"

That caused his daughter to start and jump up. "Mama?"

He ran to the femme, shaking his helm when Knockout looked at the family sadly. "What happened!?"

The medic gave an answer. One clear answer that shook the family to its knees. "Autobots happened."

Nightshade wailed.

Optimus watched the nearly full grown femme rest in his berth. They did not have the time to give her an extra berth, so she recharged in different berths. Mainly she went to Optimus', which surprised the mech but he welcomed her anyway. He had watched her grow under his and Ratchet's care, though he was puzzled over her origin. Silverwing had said he had found her in the forest by the Decepticon border, and from the details he gave the Prime, he knew where he was talking about. But in order for the Seeker to find the orphan, he would have had to trespass. _Something does not add up_.

The femme woke up, yawning and stretching as she saw Optimus watching her. "Hello, Optimus Prime." She purred and bounced into his lap, rewarding him with a kiss to his cheek. "Recharge well?"

"Yes." He set her uncermoniously back on the berth. "Stay," he said sternly, but she hopped to her pedes anyway and he sighed. "Can you not follow orders?"

"Nope," she giggled. She pushed past him and into Ratchet, purring. "Hi, Papa." She kissed his cheek. "Primey loves me."

Optimus watched them, remembering that she knows no other parent. To her, Ratchet is her father and he does not seem to be bothered by her calling him that. In fact, it seems he encourages it.

"Hello, my little sweetspark. Recharge well with Optimus?" He winked back at the Prime and Optimus paused for a moment in surprise.

"We are not mates."

Both of their shoulders drop and they sighed in unison.

"Come on, Prime. What's wrong with Crystal?"

The femme, Crystal, watched his face. Optimus knew she loved him, but he also knew that if he showed affection to the Decepticons, they would catch on and use that against him.

"I cannot love her."

Ratchet's helm shook in a sad way.

Crystal cried.

Nightshade sat alone in her quarters, holding herself as she felt her spark go cold and dark, not trusting anyone after she learned her mother died due to an Autobot ambush. She shuddered at the thought of the Autobots. They will pay, she thought. They will pay indeed. She stood, growling lowly as she walked out and shouldered past her father. "Out of my way!" She turned her helm to see his expression, and in doing so, she smacked into his second-in-command. "Watch it!"


	2. Chapter 2

The slender Seeker narrowed his optics. "Just because you're Megatron's runt doesn't mean that you can walk around like the second-in-command."  
>She scowled. "It's the second-in-command a girl? So I should be closer than you think."<br>His wings shook in anger and his long-clawed servos curled into fists. "You're lucky there are 'cons watching us or you will be a puddle of Energon on the floor."  
>"I'm shaking," she pouted. She hooked a talon under his chin. "Do a little better job of scaring me next time," she hissed. She shoved the older Seeker away, her own wings trembling as she stalked off. She heard Megatron call her, but she didn't turn around to see his face. "I'll be back later!"<p>

Crystal sat in the woods, crying into her servos as she listened to the river babble at the shore. She might have strayed across the border, but she had to get away from the Autobot base and a certain Prime. Why could not just show his emotions once? Why did he have to be so practical? She sniffed and wiped her tears away as she stood.  
>A purple blur caught her attention and she paused to watch it. She began to chase it curiously. It was a femme, she found, and she was close enough to touch her shoulder when something slammed into her side. She yelped and spun, having some instincts of defending herself and she faced a fuming purple and black Seeker.<br>"What are you doing here, Autobot?" She clicked her talons together, smirking. "I've always wanted to test out Starscream's method."  
>"Look, I'm sorry I crossed your border, but I was chasing this femme-"<br>The femme Seeker snorted. "I'm expected to believe you, Autobot? Your faction is built on nothing but lies and stories for sparklings."  
>Crystal snorted. "This is coming from a femme belonging to the faction named 'Decepticon'?"<br>"You Autobots named us that!"  
>"You named yourselves."<br>The femmes glared at each other for a long moment before the Seeker tilted her helm. "You kinda..."  
>"Look like me," Crystal finished. She cautiously moved closer, wary of the Seeker's talons but she made no move of using them. "That's creepy."<br>She snorted, but was not too offended. "Megatron says we all have twins somewhere... I lost mine," she whispered sadly. "But looks like I belonged to a triplet gang."  
>Crystal looked up. "You had a sibling? Lucky. I don't know if I had any siblings. Daddy said his friend found me in these woods."<br>"This is where I was born," she gasped.  
>"What?"<p>

Nightshade sat by the river, listening to the water clack over the rocks. She threw a pebble in, spooking a group of small fish. She grunted and sighed, hugging herself. She did not remember much of her mother, but enough to know that she loved her and she missed her. She looked up at a blur of purple similar to her own color, but she wrote it off as grief until a blue flash followed it. "Trespassers!" She jumped up and followed it.  
>The blurs of colors turned out to be femmes, one running from the other. She assumed it was an ambush and she tackled the blue femme, forcing her to the ground. She jumped up and let the femme sputter and scramble to her pedes. "What are you doing here, Autobot?" She clicked her talons together, imaging them rip through her first victim. "I've always wanted to test out Starscream's method."<br>"Look," she began. "I'm sorry I crossed your border, but I was chasing this femme and-"  
>"You expect me to believe you, Autobot? Your faction is built on nothing but lies and stories for sparklings?"<br>The blue femme smiled and shook her helm. "This is coming from a femme belonging to the faction named 'Decepticon'?"  
>"You Autobots named us that!" She growled and flexed her talons, eyeing the femme.<br>"You named yourselves!" She spat the words.  
>Nightshade glared at her for a long time before she had this strange feeling that she had seen this snotty blue femme before. She tipped her helm when she came to her conclusion. "You kinda..."<br>"Look like me," she finished. Apparently she had the same conclusion. She slowly moved closer, obviously scared but Nightshade had no intention of hurting her. She was too busy eyeing the limp deformed wings on her back. "Megatron said we had a twin somewhere, but I lost my twin. Looks like I belong to a triplet gang."  
>"You had a sibling? Lucky. I don't know if I do. Daddy said I was found here in these woods."<br>Nightshade froze. "This is where I was born!" She clamped a servo over her mouth, realizing she was giving away too much information. How could she just give this information to this Autobot?  
>"What?" She looked at her in surprise.<br>"Show me where you were found!" She grabbed the femme's shoulders. She could hardly believe that this could be her sibling. Her mother had said that Nightshade was the strongest and that the other was so weak that she had to be killed, but what if Nighthawk could not kill her fragile baby and she just left it in the forest, only to be found by an Autobot patrol?  
>The femme led her to a small space by the river and pointed to a pile of moss under a tree. "Daddy said Silverwing found me here."<br>Nightshade looked under the tree and rooted around, finding what she was looking for. She produced a string of jewels with the Decepticon insignia stamped on each polished gem. She held up her own string of jewels and she watched the femme before her put two and two together.  
>"You're my sister!?"<p>

Silverwing worked in his berthroom, tapping his chin as he thought. He heard a small knock on his door and he was surprised to see Crystal standing in the doorway. "Hello, little one," he murmured.  
>"May I come in, sir?"<br>"Of course. Make yourself at home." He watched her settle on his small berth. "It's nothing grand like Prime's, but it's the best I have and it's fairly comfortable."  
>She giggled and then fell silent, watching him closely. "Daddy said you're the one that found me in the woods."<br>"I was," he said warily. He glanced in the hall once, nervous. "Why do you ask?"  
>"Well, he also said I had a twin, and I just wondered if you found another sparkling there."<br>Silverwing tapped his digits on his desk. "No, if I had found another sparkling, I would have brought it home. You were the only one I found under that tree."  
>"I just wanted to know... I had a dream of being crushed by a larger sibling. I just wanted to know if that was true."<br>"Did you...see anything else?" He wrapped his digits around a wrench.  
>"No... It gets fuzzy after that and the next thing I remember is Daddy cooing to me and Optimus letting me sleep on his chest."<br>His grip on the wrench loosened. "Well, I'm glad you came to visit me. I don't regret saving you. You're turning into quite the young femme."  
>"Thanks. I'm glad you took the time to talk to me. I have no further questions."<p>

Megatron waited for Nightshade to come home and when she did, he wrapped her into a hug. "Never leave like that again. I was about to send patrols out looking for you!"  
>"I'm sorry, Dad. I don't know what came over me. I just had to get off this ship..." She stopped when she saw a femme standing behind him. "Dad, who's that?"<br>"This is Silence, Nightshade. She's a new Decepticon, former factionless. She will be taking up your mother's duties. I expect you to be nice," he added, remembering the way she disrespected every warrior in her way off the ship, including his second-in-command. "Nighthawk didn't raise you to be disrespectful to the ones that raised you."  
>Nightshade nodded, looking at Silence.<br>Silence extended a servo. "Pleased to meet the daughter of the Decepticon warlord. I was not aware he allowed the femmes he seduced to carry."  
>Megatron grunted. "It was an accident. I thought I had avoided the situation, but apparently not if I have a daughter in front of me."<br>"And I had a twin, but she died."  
>"Shhh," Megatron hissed.<br>Silence's optics darkened a bit. "That's too bad. I'm sure you two would have been a deadly combo."  
>"I know. I wish I had known her."<br>"Maybe someday you will," Silence whispered.  
>Megatron stared at Silence for a long time. "Excuse me?"<br>"Maybe Nightshade will meet her sibling with Unicron. Do you not believe all good Decepticons go to Unicron for their eternal reward?"  
>"I do," Megatron said. He relaxed a bit, but he knew he had to keep an optic on Silence.<br>And on Nightshade.

Optimus recharged in his berth, sighing softly as he felt the sheets move. "Crystal..."  
>She stopped burying herself in his cotton sheets. "Mm?"<br>"I am sorry for hurting you."  
>"Don't mention it. I'm not in the mood for crying." She rolled over and though they were close, they did not touch. She kept it that way and Optimus sighed longingly.<br>"I just cannot afford for you to be hurt." He spoke into the wall, but Crystal heard him. He knew because she rolled over and hugged his back.  
>"I get hurt everyday," she whispered.<br>"I will try to protect you."  
>"I don't need protecting."<br>"I will provide everything for you."  
>"Let me be able to live without you if need be."<br>He rolled over and looked into her pale blue optics. "If this does not work out... If I get hurt in battle... If you get hurt in battle..."  
>"I'll still love you." She moved against him. "I'm having a really difficult time right now and I just need someone to hold me together so I don't break."<br>"It will be my honor to hold a femme like you"


	3. Chapter 3

Silence. A perfect name for a femme hiding from her past, hiding from the very people that she ran to for safety. She knew that under a new name, she would be safe. What she did not know was how long her secrets would stay buried.

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Starscream watched Nightshade work part time in the MedBay. He had injured his sensitive wings during a fight with the Autobots and Nightshade was not pleased that she had missed it. She roughly applied a bandage to his wings when he informed her that none of the Autobots perished or were severely wounded. "Owww!"  
>"Hush up, you big baby!" She snapped and growled lowly in his face. "If you want to cry, go to your mommy!"<br>He pulled away from her, growling until Megatron walked in to silence the fight before it could explode into infighting...again.  
>"Enough, you two. Nightshade, I'm very disappointed in you. You-"<br>"I missed a fight because you keep me in here until dusk! No Autobot attacks at night! How am I supposed to avenge Nighthawk now?"  
>She spun around before he could answer. "Every one of them will pay for what they took from me!"<br>Starscream thought, once again, that there was something terribly wrong with her and that only made her more attractive to him. He watched her tremble and growl with rage. "I will assist you. I also have scores to settle and I believe that the two of us together will bring the Autobots to their knees."  
>Megatron snorted. "As long as my demise is not involved, have at it. But if Nightshade is so much as scratched-"<br>"Stop worrying about me, Dad!" She growled louder and marched out of the room, her wings erect. Starscream watched her stomp out, then his optics were fixed to her aft.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silence walked the halls, running her talons along the wall as she closed her optics and sighed. She traced the Decepticon insignia, flinching when the femme that had tackled the blue Autobot stomped by. She watched her and smiled a bit. Sadness flickered across her optics, but she wrestled her emotions down and locked them in a box. She threw the key away and slammed the closet door marked BAD MEMORIES and she continued down the hall

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nightshade sat on the landing pad on the Nemesis, hugging herself as she pawed at her tears. She knew about her sister, knew that someone was lying about what happened to her twin, but she refused to admit she had one. If Crystal went to the Autobots, it was because she was weak and that Nightshade was strong. Therefore, she and the other Decepticons were to weed out the weak ones, and that included her not-sister.  
>She flinched when Starscream sat beside her and she sniffed, wiping away all evidence of her tears. "Come to gloat?"<br>"Gloat?"  
>"You just caught me crying. Come to tell me that I'm weak and you're strong and that I'm such a waste of-"<br>He shook his helm, turning her face to his. "You're going through a rough time. You just lost your mom. No one is expecting anything from you now. But know that I am going to help you avenge your mother. She will not die in vain."  
>She nodded, her optics returning to their fierce shade. "I consider you as my teammate now. Don't disappoint me."<br>The Seekers smirked at each other, then the older one got to his pedes. "Never."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crystal leaned against Optimus, kissing his chin and jaw as she smiled up at him. They stood at the river where she was found and, according to her sister, born. She had carved a heart into a nearby tree and put CxO in it. Optimus had smiled and nodded his approval, but then he looked out over the river and had gone silent. Then he looked over at her and pulled her against his side.  
>"I was contemplating the possibility of sparklings," he whispered. "I am willing to have sparklings with you, but they will be born in a time of war and you will only have a few moments of recovery, possibly a day. The Decepticons get weeks to bond with their young, but we cannot afford that..."<br>She watched him, nuzzling his jaw. "We have the Wreckers and lately, the Decepticons have been quiet. It's time we added to the warriors anyway."  
>He nodded slowly and a small smile formed. "Very well. I will consider the possibility of sparklings further. But for now, enjoy your position of warrior as in a few days, you will be confined to my berth until you carry and until it is born."<br>She smiled and hugged his hips. "I can't wait."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Megatron watched Nightshade recharge in his berth, her talons twitching before they curled into the pillow stuffed under her helm. He rubbed her back down to her hip before he got up and left her. As he walked down to his throne room, he passed his favored warrior, Nemesis. "Nemesis, come with me, if you will."  
>The large black mech spun on his heel and trailed after him like the good warrior he was. Megatron smirked as he closed the throne room's door behind his assassin. "Nightshade is getting older. I'd like you to be her mate."<br>He grunted, then nodded. "Very well, master. I will do my best to care for the little one."  
>"Thank you, Nemesis. You are dismissed."<br>"Thank you," he grunted and he walked out, stopping outside Megatron's quarters to peek in on the femme. Megatron watched with interest as the mech walked in and he heard Nightshade's murmurs of weak protest. Then the black mech reappeared, Nightshade draped over his shoulder like a prize, and he walked down the halls back to his quarters.  
>Megatron sat down in his throne and reviewed the warriors' reports, stopping when he came to Nighthawk's. He traced each word, sighing softly and he turned the page and read Silence's. He sat forward and frowned at the words.<br>"What?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Optimus watched Crystal recharge on her back, the sheets covering her belly and hips only. He sipped his Energon, purring quietly to himself at the thought of a sparkling or two cuddling into his mate's side. He woke her gently, soothing her confused mews with kisses. "Good morning," he whispered.  
>"Morning..." She flopped onto her belly, burying her face in his pillow.<br>He chuckled and let her recharge, patting her aft as he left the room to her. He walked to his office and arranged a patrol consisting of the scout Bumblebee and his second-in-command, Ultra Magnus. He leaned back and propped his pedes on the desk, letting himself daydream until the door opened. He sat up too quickly, making Energon spill down his chest and between his thighs. "Frag..."  
>Ratchet stood in the doorway, grinning. "Never thought I'd hear you swear. Did I surprise you?"<br>"I am a Prime. We are not supposed to be surprised." He wiped at the liquid, grunting. "Why have you come?"  
>"To report a sighting of a purple femme staring across the border. Silverwing was sent to investigate and he has not returned."<br>Optimus frowned softly. "Why were you and Silverwing out of base?"  
>"We're low on fuel and Silverwing spotted a deposit. While I was harvesting, he said he saw a femme and I saw her, too. Then he took off after her across the border and I haven't seen him since."<br>"It is not like him to be so irrational..." He frowned, tapping the desk. "Come, Ratchet. We will wait for him. Do not invade the Decepticons. It has been peaceful and quiet. I do not wish to destroy that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silverwing buried his face into the ground, tears coursing down his cheeks as he howled his emotional pain. "No... No! How can this be!?"  
>"I can no longer see you, Silverwing. It is not right."<br>He threw a servo-full of dirt at the femme. "It was right until you had to get pregnant!"  
>"It was an accident. That's what you kept telling me. That's what I believe. We were being irresponsible. I'm keeping that from happening again. You know I love you, but I can't keep sneaking off to see you. I'm with a mech now."<br>"Liar! I know you still love me!" He sobbed and clawed at a tree, howling loudly. He knew the femme, the love of his life, had left, but he kept screaming for her, screaming for what he had lost, screaming for what she had taken away.  
>He drug his claws through a heart in a tree, and collapsed into a pitiful pile of sobs. That was how Optimus and Ratchet found him, curled under the base of a tree and muttering about a femme that broke his spark in two. He looked up at the heart he scratched up.<br>S+N


	4. Chapter 4

Nightshade held herself, feeling sold as she sat beside a snoring Nemesis. Her spark was already broken from losing her mother, learning that she had been lied to about the fate of her twin, and now her own father gave her to a mech in love with the Decepticon cause? What did she do to deserve this agony? She buried her face in the crook of her arm, wanting to cry like a lost sparkling, but the tears did not come.  
>"What are you doing sitting up? It is time to recharge. Lay down with me." The black mech gave her no room to protest. He pulled her against his chest and crushed her into the berth.<br>Nightshade laid awake all night, listening to the large mech grunt and snore. She sighed and closed her optics as a small tear fell down her cheek.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crystal laid beside Optimus as the moon filtered through the window and bathed them in silver light. Optimus rubbed her belly, pretending it was carrying a sparkling and he kissed her cheek fondly. She giggled and let him, stretching out as she whimpered for him to touch her. He traced a seam in her armor down to her panel and watched her arch, her begging becoming louder and he slowly pushed a digit behind her panel only to pull it back with he felt her valve.  
>She whined and bucked her hips, but he shook his helm and kissed her quiet. "Please?" she said through a kiss. Optimus purred, still refusing. "Why not?"<br>"Because I want you to be in the right position for me. I do not want our first frag to be because of a heat cycle."  
>She stuck her glossa out at him, but kissed him gently. "Okay."<br>"Get some sleep, my dear.. I will watch you through the night in case your nightmares come back. I will chase them away, I promise."  
>Crystal remembered the horrible nightmares of being abandoned in the woods for the Predacons and evil-eyed beasts to feed on her and she nodded, curling into his arms to recharge. She listened to his spark beat before she drifted off.<br>The nightmare was replaced by a femme dangling her and her sister in the mouth of a beast, promising to let them go if either of them could identify her.  
>She woke up screaming and crying after the femme in her dreams let her and Nightshade plummet into the beast's mouth.<p>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Starscream watched Nightshade work in the MedBay. She had called him in so she could examine his wing he had damamged in a fight against the Autobots. He knew about the mate Megatron gave her, and with a mech like Nemesis to care for her, he expected her to be happy. Her optics were dark with sorrow and her movements were slow and far from precise. She was the exact opposite of happy.  
>"Do you want to talk about it, Nightshade? I'm sure Breakdown can cheer you up."<br>"I can deal with my own problems, okay!?" She fixed her dim optics on him, her lips curled over her denta in a snarl. "Now show me that blasted wing!"  
>He let her see the small wound, pointing out that it was feeling better and that the size had shrunk due to her healing. She just rolled her optics and rewrapped his wing. He stood and squeezed her servo gently. Then he left before she could clobber him or bite his helm off. He turned to see her cover her face and cry.<br>His wings dropped as Nemesis walked by and completely ignored his crying mate, too busy caring for his cannon. He cleaned it with such care that should have been given to Nightshade. He looked back at Nightshade and sighed softly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Optimus went to visit Silverwing in the MedBay. The Seeker was distraught in the woods and he had hoped Ratchet could bring him back, but every day, the silver mech seemed to get worse and worse until finally, Ratchet admitted that he could do no more than pray to Primus. He opened the door just as Ratchet covered the Seeker's body, shaking his helm sadly. "Oh, Primus..."  
>"He must have gone in the night. When I came, his optics were open and he was smiling, like someone had come to fetch him." He looked at Optimus. "He was our last Seeker. We lost his brothers in the war, now him. Crystal is a deformed Seeker because of a twin."<br>"We have survived this long. We will survive longer." Optimus touched his friend's shoulder. "We will be fine under your care, Ratchet."  
>"Silverwing wasn't," he protested.<br>"Silverwing was too far gone. There was nothing you could do. You said it yourself."  
>The medic's shoulders dropped and he looked over at the body. "Don't tell Crystal."<br>The Prime blinked. "She should know her teammate has passed."  
>"Yes, but I tested Silverwing for a cause of death. When I turned the CNA into the computer, it came up with Crystal's file as well as is. I thought it was a coincidence or a malfunction. I looked through her file. Their CNA matches."<br>"I do not follow..." Optimus struggled to understand, denying his conclusions. He had to hear Ratchet say it.  
>"Silverwing sired Crystal."<p>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silence heard the news of one less Autobot the same time everyone else did on the Nemesis that afternoon. While the 'cons around her cheered in delight, she lowered her helm and sent a little prayer up to Primus. _Bless that mech, Primus, bless him. He did nothing wrong_...  
>Usually, the death of your enemy brings joy.<br>Today, it brought spark-break.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Megatron watched Nightshade cry in the MedBay as she cleaned up. He had sent out a patrol of voulanteers to search the stars for other Decepticons. Nemesis had gone with them. They would be gone for three months. He left Nightshade to miss her mate, believing that her grieving would be over soon. He sat in his throne room, thinking about the recent death of an Autobot Seeker. He could not stop the smile creeping across his face.  
>He leaned back in his throne, purring softly to himself until he fell into deep recharge. He dreamed of killing every mech and femme in that blasted base that could not be found. He imagined killing the Autobot leader. He imagined gutting the lapdog of a medic. And then he imagined a basket of twin femmes, crying behind his mate and an Autobot Seeker. Their arms were locked around each other and they gave him a defiant look. When he looked down, a blade tip protruded from his chest.<br>He woke with a start and he rubbed his optics.  
>"Just a dream," he told himself. "Just a dream..."<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Optimus paced in front of Ratchet, shaking his helm in disbelief. How could the mech that he had known all his life be the sire of his mate? "No, Silverwing did not seem interested in Arcee."  
>"I didn't say he was. He sired Crystal. And since Crystal is a Seeker..."<br>The Prime stopped pacing and he looked at him. "Her carrier is also a Seeker... But who could have been his mate? I only know of Starscream."  
>"I looked up the Seeker count. There was three listed. Starscream, Nightshade, and a femme called Nighthawk, who was also listed as deceased. Guess which one is old enough to be a mother."<br>"Nighthawk..."  
>"Looks like the two traitors are together once again."<br>Optimus shook his helm and sighed. "We cannot tell Crystal..."  
>"What can't you tell me?"<br>Ratchet and Optimus looked to see Crystal standing in the doorway, her optics wide and confused.  
>"Scrap..."<p>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Starscream walked to Nemesis' quarters, hearing Nightshade cry from inside. He opened the door and leaned against the doorway. "Now, who can leave a beautiful femme like you behind?"  
>She sniffed and glared at him. "Want a list?"<br>He walked in, shutting the door behind him as he walked to her. "No. I want to see you purring again."  
>"That will never happen... Not anymore. I've lost my mother, found out I've been lied to, and Megatron gave me to this horrible mech who forgets I'm here! He's never said he loved me and he's never shown me that. He hasn't even taken me. He's done nothing but polish his cannons and his knives." She sniffled.<br>He watched her face, shaking his helm. Who could lie to a femme? When he was growing up, mothers whipped their sons for hurting a femme. Now there seemed to be no respect for ones, especially the ones like Nightshade. "That's not right."  
>"Well, it happened to me, whether you like it or not. What are you doing here, anyway?" She wiped her tears off her cheeks.<br>"I've come to tell you I love you," he whispered and he crawled over her, giving her a small kiss.  
>She tensed at first, then relaxed. He found she was love-hungry as she kissed back and mewed protests when he moved away. "Stay with me," she pleaded.<br>"I will stay as long as I can."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crystal's pede tapped irritibly as she waited for the mechs to explain themselves. "Well? Do you have anything to say to me?" She fixed her accusing look on her mate, whose helm was lowered. She then stared at her father. "Dad?"  
>He sighed. "You may want to sit down, sweetspark, for this one..."<br>She sat on the berth, her arms still crossed, as Ratchet and Optimus sat on either side of her. She looked from one to the other, settling on Ratchet as he opened his mouth to speak.  
>"Silverwing has passed," he whispered.<br>Her optics widened. "You two thought I'd be upset if I heard?"  
>"Kind of," Optimus said as he rubbed his helm. "Ratchet ran some tests on his CNA and..."<br>"And I found out that you have similiar CNA, so..."  
>"So you two-"<br>"Are-"  
>"Sort of-"<br>Crystal jumped up and held her helm. "Holy scrap, my father is Silverwing!?" She looked back at the nodding mechs and tears filled her optics. "My father is dead?"  
>"As well as Nighthawk, your mother..." Ratchet looked at her.<br>"I'm an ORPHAN!?" She hugged herself, crying. "Oh, poor Nightshade!"  
>"Nighthawk," Optimus corrected.<br>"No, my sister! She doesn't know we're orphans. She was told I was dead, but we found each other and we found out that we are related and I kept it secret because I was ashamed of being a half-breed and I thought you would leave me if you found out, Optimus, so I was quiet and now that I know my parents are dead... Nightshade doesn't know..."  
>Ratchet and Optimus looked at each other and sighed.<br>"This is why I made it illegal for Decepticons and Autobots to breed..."

~~~~~~~~~~

Nightshade panted up at Starscream as the Seeker finished what he started. She winced as he slowly pulled free of her once-virgin valve. "Ahhh..." She blinked at the rush of warmth and Starscream's horrified expression. "What?"  
>"I stopped before I could come, but when I pulled, it...it came..." He looked down between her legs and he blinked. "I pray to Unicron you aren't carrying..."<br>She groaned. A pregnancy would ruin everything. Nemesis had not taken her, so he would know she was not untouched as she had told him when he laid her in his berth. "This can't be happening... Why did I even allow you to talk me into this?"  
>The Seeker kissed her cheek as he laid beside her. "There wasn't much of a debate. You begged and pleaded for it."<br>"You could have pushed me away," she accused teasingly, cuddling into him as she sighed. "I should clean these sheets after you leave."  
>She felt Starscream kiss her helm and she purred loudly, nuzzling his chest.<br>"That would be a good idea. We don't want to leave behind evidence of our...activity."  
>She giggled and blushed up at him. "Thanks for being here with me."<br>"It was an honor."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Megatron was haunted by dreams of Seeker twins, dreams of his former lover, dreams of a dead Autobot taking her away. He hardly recharged and when he did, he woke up with his spark trying to escape from his chest. He held his chest, gulping the air and he collapsed back into the silk sheets. "Frag it... Unicron, why do you torture me with these dreams?" He rubbed his optics and he stood slowly.  
>He heard the usual activity of the Decepticons waking up and going about their daily duties. He heard Nightshade purring and he blinked in surprise, rushing to the door to see for himself. Yes, there she was, skipping down the hall to the MedBay. When was the last time he saw her skip? When she was little? When she was gripping Nighthawk's servo for support? Eons ago. He had seen her skip eons ago.<br>He closed the door slowly and sighed with relief. It looked like he had his daughter back at last.  
>He could not wait to tell Nemesis.<p>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silence watched Nightshade skip by and she watched the way Starscream watched her with what she knew was love in his optics. She wished she could stop them from loving. How could Nightshade fall in love with that Seeker when she was Nemesis' mate?  
>How could the half-breed sparkling make the same mistakes her mother did?<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Nightshade laid back in her berth, feeling the now-familiar nudge of a sparkling stretching in her womb. She blinked away tears, covering her optics with her arm as Nemesis grunted beside her.  
>"Stupid femme...sleeping away the morning." He got up and left her, not even bothering to pick up any weapons on his way out. He slept with most of them anyway.<br>She lowered her arm and her servos dropped to her still-flat belly. How could I have been so stupid, she asked herself. She closed her optics until Starscream kissed her awake.  
>"He is missing out," the Seeker chuckled as he laid beside her and wrapped her in an embrace. He noticed her expression and he touched her cheek. "What's wrong?"<br>"Starscream, I need you to mech-up for this one," she whispered. She stood and walked to the window, staring out across the horizon as she gathered the strength to confess her condition to the only mech she had slept with. She imagined him jumping up and running scared, screaming and crying like he did out of battle. She turned to face him and when she did, the Seeker's red optics dropped to her belly.  
>"I'm pregnant," she choked. She lowered her gaze and stared at her pedes. She felt the springs of her berth creak and she knew he was bolting, but when she looked up, she had to blink several times.<br>Starscream stood before her, his optics full of pride as his servos touched her belly gently. "I cannot believe it... I am going to be a daddy?"  
>She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, smiling and laughing through her tears. It was perfect, she knew. Too perfect. Everything would be alright.<p>

Silence heard the exchange, her audio pressed against Nemesis' door after Starscream entered. A cheating femme and now a trine is to be born? She knew better than to think that the Seekers would only produce one of their kind. She was smarter now. One nudge bred into two or three. She held her belly and looked down at the scar running across it. Yes, she was smarter now.

Megatron clapped Nemesis on the shoulder, purring fondly. "Whatever you have done to my daughter, keep it up. I've never seen her so happy," he said.  
>Nemesis gave him a confused look. "She sulks all day and night. I see no improvement in her behavior."<br>He frowned, remembering seeing Nightshade skipping. "But.."  
>"If you'll excuse me, sir, I have to patrol."<br>He watched his favored soldier march away, tipping his helm in confusion. He had seen his daughter skip down the halls and appear to be happy, but Nemesis said there was no difference. Someone is not telling the truth, he thought.

Starscream walked down the halls, beaming with pride, as he passed the new soldier's quarters. He stopped when he heard the cooing and happy gurgles of sparklings. He frowned and pressed his audio to the door. Yes, there were sparklings in there. But he knew that Silence was not with a mech that he saw. He could not see her with a mech.  
>"Find something interesting, Starscream?"<br>He stood up straight immediately, seeing Silence standing behind him with her arms crossed.  
>"When were you going to tell someone you had sparklings?"<br>She scoffed and opened the door, revealing a sparkling-free berth and quarters. "What sparklings? I have none now." She bit her lip and walked in, shooting him a glare before she slammed the door in his face.

Crystal leaned against Optimus, purring softly into his audio as their newborn twins held onto their legs. "Starfire, Orion, be careful.." She worried for them, amusing Optimus.  
>"They know what they are doing. They will not grow up if you baby them their whole lives," he purred fondly.<br>She watched Optimus scoop up their son and kiss his helm. "Look who is doing the babying now," she teased. She lifted her daughter and held her close, purring at the sparkling's yawn. "They need to nap," she said.  
>"Indeed. Orion has already closed his optics."<br>She led Optimus to the new nursery, laying Starfire in her crib as Orion was tucked into his.  
>"You will be safe here, my little ones. Grow up big and strong. Be the warriors I know you can be," Optimus whispered. His voice was encouraging, but Crystal heard something rattle his voice that she had not heard in a long time.<br>Optimus was afraid.

Optimus laid awake, his mate curled up against his side. He held her there, brushing her cheek with his digit tips as he sighed softly. He admitted that he was scared, but not to his mate or his whole team. He had told Ratchet of his fears, of a nightmare that never goes away.  
>A nightmare of his mate turning into a femme with purple and black armor, protecting a trine of sparklings only to be killed by a similiar femme with gold highlights on her optics and lips. His spark-pulse quickened at the memory before he scolded himself. His mate was safe. They only had two sparklings and they were not even Seekers. He relaxed again and stared at the ceiling, where a painting of Cybertron was. He smiled when he remembered his mate painting it for him.<br>This is where I belong, he thought. In a safe base with my team, my mate, and two sparklings. I am safe here. I cannot be harmed here.  
>So why am I afraid that I will lose everything?<p>

Silence hugged her knees as she let the tears run down her cheeks. She stared at the two sleeping sparklings at her pedes that twitched and whined. She looked down at her scarred belly, remembering how she submitted to a mech believing she would forget about her former mate. When she got pregnant, she believed that they would remove images of her daughters she lost. But the mech left her and she carved the sparklings out of her body, expecting them to die in the leaf litter beside the river. She had been too weak to let them die, so she smuggled them onto the Nemesis, knowing Megatron will care for her well enough that she could possibly nurse her babies.  
>Starscream nearly discovered them. She had to be more careful, she knew, if she wanted to continue having her sparklings with her.<br>Dreadwing yawned and sneezed, his split-spark twin's wings shuttering at his stretch. Skyquake blinked sleepily up at Silence and scooted closer to her, disturbing Dreadwing's slumber. They both erupted into irritable squeaks and proceeded to bite each other the way sparklings do: Denta-less.  
>She did not bother to soothe them. She drew away into a corner and let her sparklings fight. She could not look at them without being reminded of a little femme crying for her in the leaves. "Oh, Starsong, I hope you see that I did it for your own good..."<p>

Nightshade snuck into Starscream's quarters, muffling her whimpers of pain. She crawled into his berth and shook him awake. "They're coming," she whispered when he blinked sleepy optics at her.  
>"Oh, Unicron," he swore. "We have to get you off the ship and-"<br>"No. I want them to be born on the Nemesis." She looked him in the optic, showing that she was serious.  
>"Of course," he said and he kissed her jaw, laying her down. "Just relax and let them come."<br>"Have you even delivered sparklings before?" She looked at him skeptically. She let her legs open wide and she felt a helm push through.  
>"I've read about the process," he confessed. "Looked pretty easy." He winked, then ducked his helm to avoid a swat aimed at his face. "Oh, look!"<br>"I can't, exactly."  
>He produced a black and grey mechling, wiping at its face so it could inhale and cough. "It looks like you..."<br>She laid her helm back and smiled through the contractions and the pain until two more mechlings were born, one smaller than the rest.  
>"It's a runt. Every trine has them." He held his sons in his lap, petting their helms until he looked up at Nightshade.<br>She sat up and lifted the runt. "He looks like you..." She rubbed her cheek on his helm. "They will be..."  
>She lifted the black sparkling. "Deadshot..." She touched the dark grey and red streaked sparkling. "Sonicsound..." She kissed the runt's light grey and red-flecked helm. "Firefall."<p>

Crystal woke up, screaming. She had been searching her memories for any of her mother and what happened to her the night her father took her home. She finally managed to piece everything together and it tore her spark apart. Optimus held her as she confessed everything, telling him what had happened to her the night she arrived at the Autobot base...

_Nighthawk held Nightshade against her chest as the last sparkling was born. It was small and weakly sniffled in the leaves. She laid Nightshade beside it, letting the larger femme warm the smaller baby while she cleaned up from birth. Weak squeaks and cries brought her attention back to the sparklings._  
><em> Nightshade was biting the runt, kicking her away.<em>  
><em> "Now, now, little one," a deep voice purred. "That is your sister."<em>  
><em> Silverwing walked into the clearing and knelt by the sparklings. He lifted the runt up and cradled it in his arms. "She's gorgeous."<em>  
><em> "That's Starsong, and this is Nightshade... And this is...was...their brother..." She pointed at a still mechling in the leaves, his optics closed and his little silver and purple body shining in the moonlight. "He would have been a beautiful mech."<em>  
><em> Silverwing knelt in the leaves. "What happened to him?"<em>  
><em> "Nightshade was stronger than I thought. She killed her brother in the womb and nearly killed her sister. We have to keep them apart."<em>  
><em> Silverwing know saw Starsong's deformed wings. "I can take one home, say I found it crying in the woods."<em>  
><em> "Thank you, Silverwing." Nighthawk kissed him, then looked down at her son. "I'll come back and bury him," she whispered.<em>  
><em> Silverwing thrusted a basket into her free servo. "Use this to carry Nightshade. I thought you'd take both sparklings, and since we'll probably never see each other again...Think of me everytime you see it?"<em>  
><em> "Of course," she purred. She laid her daughter in the basket, waving Silverwing off as he walked through the woods.<em>  
><em> "Starsong, huh?" He smiled down at his weak daughter. "I don't really fancy that name, deary." He spotted a diamond-shaped mark on her forehelm and he smiled. "I do like Crystal, though."<em>

Silence pulled a basket out from under her berth, smiling weakly at the sight of it. "Oh, Silverwing... Can you hear me...?"  
>"It's me, Nighthawk..."<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

_**Epilogue:**_

Optimus stood atCrystal's grave, resting his helm on the rock that marked it. At Silverwing's request, they were buried side-by-side, though no one really knew why. But Silverwing was a loyal mech who was respected in his faction. He heard the leaves rustle and his helm snapped up in surprise, seeing a purple and black femme step into the light. He saw the Decepticon insignia and he frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"Paying my respects to my sister," she said. She knelt by the rock, giving its hard surface a kiss as she pulled weeds out from around it. "I didn't know her very well, but she was a cute femme and she didn't believe that the Decepticons were evil..."

Optimus gave the rock a fond pat, chuckling softly as he nodded. "She did... She tried to convince everyone that the Decepticons were just misunderstood. I wanted to believe her, but that would mean that the war would have been for nothing..."

"I believe her. We're a stupid race," she laughed. She stood and hugged herself. "Mmm... That is what she would say if she was still here..."

The Prime and the Decepticon looked down at the grave, then she nodded at the grave beside her sister's. "Who is that?"

"Silverwing, the mech who found her when she was abandoned in the woods. He wanted her to be buried by him and we obliged. He was a loyal warrior."

The femme nodded a bit, shifting her weight. "Crystal thought that Silverwing was her father, and therefore my father... I let her believe what she liked. I still think our father is Megatron..."

Optimus nodded slowly and rested his servo on the rock. "I stopped wondering who her parents were. No matter who they happened to be, I was not going to let that stop me from loving her."

"I'm glad she fell in love with you and not Ultra Magnus."

Optimus chuckled and looked at her, smiling in a way that he only smiled at Crystal. The femme looked up at him and blinked, giving him a questioning look. "You remind me of her," he confessed.

"Well, they _are_ sisters," a voice hissed. The femme and the Prime turned to see a purple and gold-highligthed step into the clearing. "I should know. I gave them life..." She looked longingly at the grave beside the rock. "Silverwing was so proud..."

They all stared at the graves, then at each other.

"You are?" Optimus looked at the new femme.

"Call me Silence," she replied. "I was known as Nighthawk before I had to leave my daughter..."

The younger femme's optics glistened with tears. "Mom?"

Silence nodded slowly, her shoulders dropping. "It's me, Nightshade... It's Mama..."

Optimus let the two femmes hold each other and he looked down at the grave, kneeling as he let his helm rest on the rock. "Dear, dear Crystal, if you can hear me, I love you..."

_Crystal blinked her optics open and stared at the forest around her. The stream beside her babbled quietly and she sat up, leaves rustling under her. She smiled and stretched in the warmth of the sun, jumping up. She looked around, having the feeling that she was being watched. "Hello?"_

_ A mechling ran out and hugged her leg, giggling as soft chuckles filled the woods. "Hai, sissy! I your brubber!"_

_ Crystal knelt and looked the little mechling in the optic, giving a soft smile before it disappeared. "I'm dead?"_

_ The chuckles stopped and the mechling's smile faded away. "Yeah... But it not bad."_

_ She held her face and backed away, sobbing as she heard pede-steps on the leaves._

_ "My dear Crystal, why do you cry?"_

_ She looked up at a familiar silver mech and memories of staring up at his face came to her and she dropped her servos, tears in her optics as she lifted her arms the way she did when she was younger._

_ "Hi, Daddy."_


End file.
